Smart fundraising strategies to move the needle.

Fundraising Services

Our consultants bring decades of front-line fundraising experience and expertise to each engagement.

We work with staff and leadership in a variety of sectors, guiding nascent major gift programs and sophisticated development operations alike. We understand that in the nonprofit sector, philanthropy is the catalyst that transforms ideas into impact. And that means everything your organization wants to accomplish tomorrow depends on your fundraising success today.

Let’s make a plan to get you there.

Advancement Planning

Let’s think big about the future of your organization—and how philanthropy can make it possible. From institutional visioning and strategic planning for the success of your organization and fundraising program to board development, training, recruitment, and other governance matters, we help you chart a path to greater impact and sustainable success.

Over the past six years, we've counseled hundreds of nonprofits making a plan for their future, including the Adventist Medical Center, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Courage Center, and many others.

Annual Giving

Your annual fund is the lifeblood of your operations.

Our team of current and former frontline advancement officers can help advance every aspect of your annual giving program—the base on which all other philanthropy is built. As the only national fundraising consulting firm with a team of adjunct annual giving specialists, we can analyze and assist with every aspect of your program, from materials and calendars to plans and strategies.

Over the past six years, we've worked with nearly 100 nonprofits to improve their annual giving strategies and practices, including Ohio University, Marquette University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and many others.

Campaign Counsel

You're ready to take the first step toward an exciting future for your organization. Let's work together to make it happen.

Throughout a major fundraising campaign, our hands-on guidance and support takes many forms: recruiting volunteers to advocate for you in the community; training your staff in the art and science of cultivation and solicitation; identifying your best prospects, and brainstorming the best ways to capture their hearts and minds.

From the initial operating plan to the gift that gets you to your goal, we're here to support, strategize, and celebrate. And over the past few years, we've had the good fortune to do so with nearly 1,000 nonprofits, including the Adler Planetarium, the Alzheimer's Association, YMCA of the USA, the San Francisco Opera, and many others.

Campaign Planning Studies

Our campaign planning studies don’t just test the feasibility of your fundraising goals—they engage your staff, leadership, and prospective donors in a discussion about what you’re trying to accomplish and how to get there.

Through qualitative conversation with your key stakeholders, quantitative data analysis, and focused case development, we collaborate with you to develop a roadmap to success. At the end of the study, you will be equipped with a tailored set of deliverables designed for your key staff as well as your board.

Since 2008, we've conducted more than 400 campaign planning studies, working with organizations pursuing their first major fundraising initiatives, helping nonprofits like the Kansas City Ballet reinvigorate stalled campaigns, and guiding organizations with a history of fundraising success like Marin Country Day School and the Indiana State University Foundation as they pursue their most ambitious campaigns to date.

Development Assessments

You have potential. You just want to know how to reach it.

Our development assessments examine your fundraising programs top to bottom, using both quantitative and qualitative methodology to help you prioritize your staff and monetary resources, make a plan for your organization’s future, and grow to reach your fundraising potential.

Over the past six years, we've conducted more than 170 development assessments, working with nonprofits across sectors and across the nation—from the Goodman Theatre to the National Park Foundation to Saint Mary's College.

Interim Management

Leadership transitions are difficult and can impact the progression of your efforts in many ways.

However, the temporary or permanent leave of an advancement or executive staff member should not impact or halt the progression of your efforts. Our team of uniquely qualified and experienced consultants fill the interim role while helping preserve your organization’s fundraising program and ensuring the continuation of its success despite this period of organizational change.

From managing staff to orchestrating your fundraising program and staffing assessments to serving as a liaison between the executive leadership and the Board, we’re here to foster your vision and help drive the organization’s growth. While filling an interim role, our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive evaluation of your organization followed by strategic recommendations that we will also assist in implementing.

We have provided this service to a wide array of organizations from various sectors and sizes including the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, The San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, American Kidney Fund, College of Saint Benedict, The Piney Woods School, and more.

Major Giving & Planned Giving Counsel

Whether you and your staff are starting your organization's first major giving and planned giving program, or you're seeking counsel as you stretch for an ambitious goal, our team can help you craft the right fundraising policies and plans for your organization, identify and evaluate potential donors, develop cultivation and solicitation strategies that get gifts—and the stewardship plans that keep donors engaged.

We've provided this specific type of counsel to hundreds of nonprofits, including the Seattle Symphony, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Good Samaritan Hospital, Tau Kappa Epsilon Foundation, and St. John's College High School.

Mid-Level Giving Services

Mid-level donors have demonstrated an interest in your organization’s mission and are prepared to make a substantial investment in its success. But they often look like low-level donors because they have been receiving annual appeals targeted at a lower giving level.

Our mid-level giving services can help you unlock this potential and maximize your donor pipeline. Building on our experiential insights, we conducted extensive research to determine best practices and understand what motivates mid-level giving. Our findings, combined with our experience, helped us develop a suite of flexible, evidence-based strategies for understanding donors and supporting mid-level giving strategies at every stage of development.

From a program assessment and systems building to staff training and marketing integration, our mid-level giving solutions will help you understand and engage this unique constituency.

We are currently working with MultiCare Health System to build a mid-level giving program, implementing streamlined processes, identifying prospects, and developing a pipeline of future major donors.

Online Fundraising

Online giving isn’t a trend. It’s the new normal. Each year, more and more donors are engaging with nonprofits and making gifts online. Our online fundraising services can help you optimize your operations to take advantage of this growing opportunity.

We compare your performance with industry best practices, working with you to address pain points and craft a path forward. From a nimble but in-depth online fundraising assessment to customized workshops and implementation counsel, our team has the expertise to address all of your online fundraising needs:

Qualification Services

Qualifying donors is a key component of any successful major gifts program, large or small. Through consistent commitment to qualification, organizations can develop their major gifts pipeline—and focus on the donors most interested in building deeper relationships with them.

Our flexible qualification services help you create an easy-to-follow framework for prospect qualification. We combine a multi-channel outreach strategy with a highly structured schedule. Depending on your needs, our consultants are available to advise your team on best practices, develop an outreach plan, or make qualification calls on your behalf.

We have worked with a number of organizations to strengthen their qualification strategy, including Alverno College, The Fenn School, National Parks Conservation Association, St. Paul's School (Brooklandville, MD), and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.